Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will, as the title indicates, introduce the multiverse to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This means The Sorcerer Supreme will have to contend with any number of threats from different alternate universes. film. With an entire multiverse about to open up, it's hard to say what exactly will appear in the film. However, one fan on Reddit has a theory about a potential crossover between the MCU and a former Marvel film franchise. The theory could tie the original Spider-Man trilogy of films to the MCU via Daily Bugle editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson.
The Jonah Connection
Played by J.K. Simmons in the original Spider-Man trilogy, J. Jonah Jameson was one of the most memorable parts of those films. Simmons often got big laughs out of his oversized delivery as the boisterous boss to Peter Parker. Jameson slipped a surprisingly subtle Marvel Universe reference in the second film. After Otto Octavius escapes custody, Jameson is seen trying to figure out what to name the next potential supervillain. He considers "Doctor Strange" to be a pretty good option, before remembering that the name is already taken.
This seems to at least hint that a version of Doctor Stephen Strange existing within this version of the Marvel Universe, while indicating he's famous enough to be known by someone like J. Jonah Jameson. This doesn't necessarily mean Doctor Strange is a superhero in this world, though. Strange was a world-famous surgeon before the accident that sent him on his quest to become the Sorcerer Supreme. This version of Doctor Strange could still be uninjured and working in downtown New York City as a major medical expert, which would make him famous enough to be noticed.
Multiverse Shenanigans
The Reddit fan theory suggests the MCU version Doctor Strange could actually be responsible for that name being known in the original Sony Spider-Verse. It's likely that there will be some universe hopping in the film, especially if Doctor Strange is confronting a massive villain like Shuma-Gorath, His travels could send him barrelling through other Marvel realities, including ones that have been seen in previous films or series. One of these even could be the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy.
A man flying out of a portal with a bright red cape would probably catch the city's attention, especially if it doesn't have many superheroes in it. This could be the version of Doctor Strange that the original version of Jonah considers to have "taken" the codename before he could use it to title Otto Octavius. This could also easily set up a cameo by Tobey Maguire's version of Spider-Man, a long-time hope for fans of the original films. The comedic moment might even be a good moment of levity in the film, which is being described as a horror story. While this theory may have seemed like a stretch even just a few years ago, it's more likely now than it's ever been, especially with Simmons having played Jameson in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
How It Could Happen
Relations between Sony and Marvel have never been better. Since the two studios brought the superhero to the MCU, Spider-Man has never been more critically and commercially successful. The recently released Spider-Man: Far From Home. The latest MCU film has, at the time of this writing, almost managed to break $1 billion at the box office, providing Sony with some strong incentives to keep working with Marvel. This could even be a way to tie Sony's other Spider-properties closer to the MCU via cameos and crossovers.
There's no reason other characters from the original Spider-Man trilogy couldn't make surprise appearances as well. Although this theory might be a long shot, it's a really fun possibility to consider, and it might just make a lot of fans of Raimi's original trilogy happy to know it's connected to the MCU.
Directed by Scott Derrickson, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen. The film hits theaters on May 7, 2021.